Your scan is not your diagnosis
Most people with back pain get one thing: an image and a label. If a picture of your spine were the answer, you would be better by now.
This screener does three things. It checks first for the small number of warning signs that mean you should be evaluated today rather than booked next week. It sorts your pain into back dominant or leg dominant, which is the single most useful question nobody asks you. Then it tells you what the research actually supports for the version you have, including the popular things it does not support.
What it does not do: it does not diagnose anything, it cannot tell you which structure is generating your pain, and it is not a substitute for being examined. What it gives you is an ordered plan and a number you can retest.
36 questions across 9 short steps, about five minutes. Nothing is sent anywhere until you choose to send it.
Root Cause Unlocked is an education and screening resource from Adam Seay, D.C. It is not medical advice, does not diagnose or treat disease, and does not replace evaluation by your own clinician.
Please be evaluated today
You answered yes, or were unsure, about one or more of the warning signs that need a same day medical assessment. I am not going to give you exercises or a plan, because the responsible thing is to send you to be examined properly.
Go to an emergency department, or contact your physician today. Do not wait for an appointment, and do not wait to see whether it settles overnight.
Most of the time these questions turn out to be nothing. They are asked because the small number of times they are something, the timing genuinely matters. Being checked and told you are fine is a good outcome.
What this was, and was not
This screener does not diagnose anything and cannot tell you what is happening. It asks a short set of questions that clinicians are trained to treat as urgent regardless of how likely they are. That is all this screen means.
Once you have been evaluated and any urgent cause has been ruled out, you are welcome to come back and complete the rest of this screener.
Educational screening only, and not a diagnosis. If you are having a medical emergency, call emergency services.
Six weeks is not arbitrary. When researchers pooled 33 studies and over 11,000 people with acute low back pain, average pain fell from roughly 52 out of 100 to about 23 out of 100 by the six week mark. That is the window where most change happens, which makes it the honest moment to check whether you are one of the people it happened to. Retake this screener on that date and compare the function number above.
Want these results emailed to you?
You already have your results, and you can print them from the bottom of this page without giving us anything. If you would like a copy in your inbox, plus a short series working through the plan below in order, add your email.
This is a public educational tool. It is not part of any medical record, and your answers are not added to your chart. We do not sell or share your information.
Your plan, in order
This is sequenced deliberately. The order below is not a menu to pick from, it is a priority list, and the things at the top are the ones that change the most for the least money.
What the evidence does not support
Based on what you told me you have already tried or are considering. I would rather tell you this than sell it to you.
Educational screening only. This result is not a diagnosis, does not identify which structure is generating your pain, and does not replace an examination. If anything here gets worse rather than better, or if any of the warning signs from step one appear, stop and be evaluated.